The Tour: A feel-good Irish springtime read. (The Tour Series Book 1)

THE TOUR is a standalone read with a happy ending. There are no sexy scenes or colorful language so any age can read and enjoy this story. Of course, it is set in Ireland but most of the characters in the story are American. The tour is places in Ireland that the bus/coach will take the passengers to see and enjoy. It is a motley crew. Some young, some old, some married, some single for one reason or another. It is a wonderful story as you can tell by the number of reviews. It is a feel-good read. I highly recommend it. At first, I was not sure I would really enjoy this type of read but it wasn't long before I could not put it down and ate my meals while continuing to read. Conor, 40 is the tour guide. He tells the story of what is going on with his passengers. He is a wonderful soul and a credit to Ireland. He is single and feels destine to stay that way until he gets a nice surprise. He works hard to keep his passengers happy and having a good time. He has been with his touring company for many years. He does well. The passengers are a very diverse group. A mother and teen son, a young couple, a widow, a professor, etc. Each with their own past and their own story. It is not long before you are caught up in their lives and issues. This is a must read. There is a little bit of everything in this story and you will enjoy all of it. I highly recommend it. There is a musical instrument mentioned in the story. I had never heard of it so I Goggled it. I even hit a site that had a gentleman playing the instrument and it was everything Dylan said it was. I learned something. Like most folks I have a small percent Irish in my DNA so naturally, I think of myself as part Irish! :-) Now I understand we aren't really Irish. I was not paid for this review. I am not a writer, nor do I know one. I am not kin to this author. I am NOT A BOT. I am a reader, and this is my opinion, nothing more, nothing less. 8/23/24.

I read "The Tour" for two reasons: 1. We were on a bus tour of Ireland 2 years ago, loved it and I had hoped that this book would take me back to our wonderful trip. 2. I am a tour director with a motor coach company in the New Jersey area and had to compare my trips with Conor's. Actually, there is a third reason ; a friend just finished it and recommended it....always a good reason. So, did it fulfill my hopes? Maybe, a little. At first I thought the characters a bit too formulae, but as I got into it, I realized that was so true. The passengers were a really mixed bag of personalities; typical of our trips. I enjoyed seeing the interaction of the passengers with each other and Conor. He had the right amount of friendliness and concern, without "playing favorites" or getting too close to any of them. I really did want the book to continue to find out what happened with everyone, since they, obviously, all had a story to continue. The itinerary itself was not too clear since they seemed to bounce around and not really "flow" from place to place, however it allowed the passengers to have their own stories within the main story. One thing that I found confusing was the use of Irish names and words, which did add colour, but didn't have adequate pronunciation or definition. Some of the names were spelled in the Irish and then given the pronunciation, but not all. And going from the Irish spelling ie: Siobha'n to the pronunciation "Shove on" wasn't carried through the entire story. That caused me to get hung up on more than one occasion. I was familiar with some of the Irish words only because our tour guide in Ireland, told us what they meant. Overall, it was a good story with a nice ending and if Conor had another trip in another book, or these characters had more adventures, I'd read it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely book. This is the first time reading one of Jean' s books. I look forward to reading more of her lovely stories. The characters were well developed and interesting. Several characters were unlikable in the beginning of the book, but you can usually find some good in a person.

Nice, easy read. I was happy that it did end and didn’t leave readers hanging on the cliff’s edge waiting for the next in the series. The characters were realistically developed over the course of the tour. The situations were a bit more dramatic than any tour I have taken, but the feeling of going from total strangers to dear friends by the end of the tour was captured well by the author.

Fun little romp of a small group of tourists in scenic Ireland led by seasoned guide Conor O'Shea. He has a very diverse group, each with their own special reasons for joining the trip, and at times conflicting personalities. Conor manages to quash most problems and personally gets involved in one lady's quest to find relatives (which I am quite sure must happen rather frequently). The mixed bag includes a sullen teenager with his mother, brow-beatened wife to narcissist husband, senior lady looking for family, female friends one of whom is a nasty bully, an Irish Boston cop looking for the "real" Irish, and another older male (and I won't give his secret away). It's only a week--how much trouble can they get into? Plenty! May have to suspend some disbelief that personalities could change to that extent in a week, but somehow the perfect solutions to each dilemma manages to manifest itself. Throw in Conor's serious little side-problem and it's a book that compels interest and flows right smartly along. I stumbled over a few of the Irish or Celtic names--but did enjoy the little Irish countryside descriptions and history. Recommended as an easy, fast, and clean read.

I love Jean Graingers books. This I found particularly good as it was a mix of Irish history, it's beauty and unusual travel stories. I'm waiting to read the complete series.

A lovely book, fun and entertaining and with some deep characters insights. I was already planning to travel back to Ireland and after reading this book I can't wait!

Ich lese sehr viel, und zum Abschalten auch öfter die Gratis-Bücher für den Kindle, oft sind es ja Liebesgeschichten. Diese hier hat mich interessiert, weil sie in Irland spielt und mal einen anderen Plot hat - ein Reiseleiter, der sich um die Probleme seiner Reisegesellschaft kümmern muss. Ja, ich weiß, hat es alles schon gegeben, aber diesmal ist es wirklich schön beschrieben. Die Figuren sind interessant - ich wollte unbedingt wissen, was aus ihnen wird. Okay, es hätten noch mehr Handlungsstränge "auserzählt" werden können; man hatte schon den Eindruck, dass eine oder zwei Geschichten doch sehr abrupt endeten - aber zwischendurch war ich tatsächlich zu Tränen gerührt. Kommt auch nicht so oft vor. Also als eine Lektüre zum Träumen oder zur Einstimmung auf einen Irland-Urlaub eignet sich das Buch hervorragend!

Absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. Found myself so invested in the characters and the development of their stories. Had been thinking of going on a tour to Ireland and this book has now made that a certainty. Will definitely be looking for more books by this author

A truly entertaining read, totally enjoyable. Every character bursts with life and interesting history to intrigue the readers. Looking forward to the next romp by Jean Grainger.